A heated talk after the game didn’t do the trick over the weekend, so on Tuesday, manager Aaron Boone went with a new lineup to provoke the Yankees.
Aaron Hicks, Clint Frazier and Rougned Odor were replaced by Brett Gardner, Mike Tauchman and Mike Ford, who starts at first base against the Atlanta Braves in the Bronx. Ford was called from the alternative site to take the place of the recently retired Jay Bruce on the list.
And Boone added that Hicks could come out again on Wednesday.
“Maybe a couple of days to take a step back and work and make the adjustments you want to make,” Boone said. “I am just taking the day off. The bottom line is that if we are the team we hope to be, Aaron Hicks will play a very important role for us. Frankly, nothing has changed in my mind other than one of the guys starting slowly and benefiting from a day off and possibly two. I’ll see where I am [Wednesday]”.
With the Yankees facing Atlanta right-hander Charlie Morton, the moves weren’t unexpected, as Hicks and Frazier have struggled throughout the season and the Yankees were looking for more left-handed bats.
However, they were significant, as Frazier is now clearly on a left-right ball with Gardner and Hicks, who changed places as No. 3 batsman at the start of the season, but has fallen into disgrace.
Both Hicks and Frazier also had tough days on the field in Sunday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, a loss that extended the Yankees’ streak of losses to five games and forced general manager Brian Cashman to show support for the Tampa Bay Rays. his team – and Boone -. the day off on Monday.
The incorporation of Tauchman into the left field, along with Gardner in the center, addresses some of the Yankees ’defensive problems and gives them more speed in a lineup that has done nothing well in the first few weeks of the regular season.
Gleyber Torres remained on the short field, with DJ LeMahieu at second base and Ford at the start and Odor at the bench.